iTunes on Android? Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak reckons the Cupertino company should make it happen.

Woz was giving a question and answer session on Slashdot, in which he also criticised Apple’s litigious nature. Read on to see why he’s talking a lot of sense.

“Apple’s real rise from the small market-share Macintosh company to the iProducts of today began with iTunes and iPod,” Woz wrote. “This turned out to be a second huge business which roughly doubled Apple’s ‘size’. If you remember, we ported iTunes to Windows. We now addressed 100 percent of the world’s market with this integrated system (iPod/iTunes) and it began the era of Apple that we are now in.

“So why don’t we port iTunes to Android? I love Apple products and iTunes and wish it were on my Android products too.”

It’d make sense, opening up the world of iTunes to those with cheaper mobiles and tablets who don’t want to splurge on a pricey Apple. Android handsets account for more than half sold worldwide now, after all. Though if you did have iTunes on your Android phone, you’d be less likely to drop hundreds on an iPod or iPhone.

Still, we’d love to see it happen. Provided Apple can iron out the bugs that still plague iTunes, that is.

Woz also praised larger phones, and lamented that he wished that “instead of all these lawsuits Apple was sitting down and cross-licensing with the other players”. Fair point, Woz. Fair point.

Woz is within his rights to comment, but being a mythical tech figure doesn’t mean that you’re comments are going to be correct.

You are also not correct in agreeing when you say “It’d make sense, opening up the world of iTunes to those with cheaper mobiles and tablets…” Apple porting iTunes to Windows made sense because Windows users will buy iPhones, iPods, and iPads, that’s how Apple increased its market share with those devices. Porting to Android makes no sense for Apple because Android users aren’t going to be buying Apple’s high margin products, and Apple is not going to be offering Android apps in its App Store. So beyond the low margin music and video offerings, there is no value for Apple to port to Android.

Despite Woz’s despondency over the patent battles, it is being reported now that Apple did, in fact, try to arrange a cross-licensing deal with Samsung prior to filing the lawsuit. Even without that Apple, like any other company, is within its rights to sue over patent issues if terms can’t be agreed on otherwise. You can rail against the machine over the current state of the patent system, but until something better comes along, it’s what we have to work with.

http://www.facebook.com/reginald.vasseur Reginald Vasseur

Agree. And also an important example of why Woz is an inventor/engineer and not a businessman. However much of a respected icon Woz is, iTunes will not appear on Android for the exact same reasons Google would not allow googlemaps turn-by-turn to appear on iPhone. It is interesting that he has no published comment regarding that.

Anonymous

Apple won’t consider supporting Android until all the lawsuits have played out. Right now Android is dead to them.

zuzu

love the woz

Roger Mercer

Apple offered the full house to Samsung for peanuts. Samsung turned it down. You can’t cross-license if the other party refuses.